


Everlasting

by rugbytackler



Category: World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: '09 Randy was peak hotness, 2000 Shawn is better, 90s Shawn is a dick, Hunter's life is crazy, M/M, no infidelity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-08
Updated: 2018-10-08
Packaged: 2019-07-28 07:21:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16236923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rugbytackler/pseuds/rugbytackler
Summary: Shawn is it for Hunter; he's always known that. Except Shawn leaves. Then there's Randy. Then Shawn comes back.





	Everlasting

Hunter fell in love with Shawn Michaels when he was twenty-six years old. To be more accurate, he had lusted after Shawn for a couple of years prior to that, watching him wrestle at any chance he could, his grace and elegance, his focus and determination in the ring capturing Hunter’s attention from the moment he saw him. And then they met for the first time, and Shawn was a dick and arrogant and an absolute piece of work, but it didn’t matter. This was it. Hunter knew that he’d never love another person like he loved Shawn Michaels. 

It took time, some interesting fashion choices, and a couple of terrifying near misses with baying crowds for them to get to a point where they could admit that their friendship could be something more. And it was tough, but Hunter had never regretted it. He dragged Shawn out of scrapes, helped put him back together each morning, and revelled in the devotion Shawn showed him. Shawn was worth it. 

Hunter had thought that was it. He’d found the man he wanted to spend the rest of his life with and they would live their eccentric lives together, travelling the country, winning and losing matches, causing havoc and being in love. It was more than he had ever dreamed about. This was his forever. 

Except Shawn took that hit on the casket. His dependence on medication and drink spiralled and no matter how hard he tried, Shawn was digging himself deeper into a hole where Hunter couldn’t reach him. The ultimate fallout, that abhorrent argument where Shawn had hurled such abuse at him and Hunter had barely been coherent enough to retaliate, had been enough to haunt Hunter’s dreams for months. They split, Shawn disappeared back to Texas and Hunter carried on without him. 

He had friends so he never felt completely alone; it just wasn’t the same as it had been with Shawn. But this was what he had worked for and it was everything he had imagined it would be and more, so he continued working hard and he pushed all thoughts of any kind of romance to the side. Nothing had changed; Shawn was still it for him, he couldn’t love anyone else in the same way he loved Shawn. It didn’t matter that he couldn’t see a reconciliation on the horizon; he’d be happy enough with this life. It would be enough. His work was always enough. 

 

That was before Randy happened. 

 

With Randy, it was never love, never anything like what he had with Shawn, but it was something. It was Randy, who swaggered into the company with all the bravado of a third-generation wrestler and acted like he owned the place. Whose protective shield wavered every so often so Hunter could see just how much pressure he was putting himself under. Who struggled to find his place in the company, struggled with his own talent, the legacy of his family and with putting in the effort needed to reach where he could go. 

Randy, who looked at Hunter with just a hint of hero worship behind his envy. 

Hunter had to admit that it was tempting. It wouldn’t be a relationship, of that he was certain, but it could be something. Something to give him a little comfort on the long nights on the road, someone who understood his life. Someone who wasn’t Shawn. Someone who couldn’t break his heart like Shawn. He’d never had anyone who looked at him like Randy did. 

Then Kevin called and suddenly Shawn was back in his life and back on the tour. 

It fucked with Hunter’s head a little. Shawn was the same but different, so different. His eyes were clear, his mind focused and his body healed. He smiled more now and Hunter was still so fucking in love with him. 

They were friends again, the fine line of their breakup plastered over, discussed and then put to one side. They were friends but not lovers. Hunter couldn’t bring himself to take that final step, to reach out again to Shawn. He had to make the first contact, he could see it in the way Shawn looked at him, but he remembered how awful it had been after the last time, and his heart was so fragile, held together by hope and not much more. So he stayed back, his love hidden behind friendship. 

And there was still Randy, who offered something much more comfortable, something Hunter could control, something he had the power over. 

So Hunter pitched the idea of Evolution to Vince, of taking on a floundering Ric Flair, and a couple of new emerging talents like the Orton boy, and that was it. Vince liked it, Hunter loved being the top heel, and Randy got some much needed stability and grounding. 

The thing was, Hunter liked having someone who looked up to him, someone who listened to him, who asked for his advice but still had a streak of rebellion in there. It was intoxicating. Hunter imagined this is what it was like to drink and for a brief moment, he understood why Shawn had started down that path. 

They were not in a relationship. Hunter had made that clear, and Randy had fully agreed, almost insulted at the thought that they would be. It was just, sometimes, after a tough match or a long haul on the road, it was comforting to fall into bed with someone who knew what he liked and who was happy to let him have it, to lose himself in the warmth of another person once more. 

And afterwards, Randy would shower and crash on the spare bed in Hunter’s room, and they would get up in the morning and it would be no big deal. There was no awkwardness, no emotional discussion, no endearments to each other, just two people finding some relief and comfort together. Randy didn’t expect any preferential treatment, and Hunter could keep his heart locked away, safe and sound. 

Shawn knew what Hunter was doing with Randy. He had knocked on Hunter’s door one evening and Randy had answered since Hunter was in the bathroom. Hunter had heard snatches of their conversation, too cowardly to come out and face Shawn himself. When he saw Shawn the next morning, Shawn had just nodded at him, his face so full of resigned acceptance that Hunter could barely stand to look at him. 

Throughout the run of Evolution, it stayed the same. Hunter and Shawn travelled together occasionally, they had dinner together when they could, they talked on the phone, they discussed potential storylines for the future, and when they parted ways, Shawn would hug him and Hunter would cling to him for the correct amount of time before stepping back, feeling the loneliness curl in his gut. 

Under Hunter’s wing, Randy thrived. He found his footing and began to stretch out more. Hunter knew it was coming to an end, that whatever they had was waning. He wasn’t sad, he wasn’t stretching it out for longer than it needed to last, it was just a fact. They got up one morning, a week or so before Randy was scheduled to win the Heavyweight Championship and start the inevitable Evolution demise, and Hunter knew this would be their last morning together like this. 

Hunter never found out how Shawn knew his arrangement with Randy had stopped, but one night he turned up at Hunter’s door and they watched whatever Texan team was playing that night, and it was like old times again. 

They started to travel more regularly together again, spending their evenings together after shows, or hitting the gym each morning. For six months, Hunter kept the balance and steadied himself in Shawn’s presence again. He felt like each day was a step in his recovery, until one day he woke and rolled over and found the empty space beside him too much to bear. That night, he kissed Shawn and felt his soul slot back into place. 

This was what had been missing on their first try, Shawn here and stable, fully focused on both his career and Hunter. There was trust, there was acceptance of the past, there was the desire to look to the future together. Hunter reacquainted himself with Shawn’s body, spending hours tracing every path, tracking scars and bruises, kissing every inch of skin he could, until Shawn grew impatient and flipped them over, returning the favour to Hunter. 

And Hunter thought that this time, for definite, this was it. They got their DX reunion, they worked their way through Hunter’s second knee injury and the following rehab, and managed to figure out being together on separate brands. 

 

Except they worked as wrestlers and their lives were never simple. As Hunter and Shawn had been moving forward with their relationship, becoming who they were supposed to be, Randy had also been rising, thriving in his career, building his fanbase and reputation alike, and moving out from under the curtain of his father and uncle’s legacy. 

 

They were all friends; Shawn liked Randy and Hunter kept in regular contact with him, acting as a sort of mentor and confidant though those labels were never mentioned. It did not escape Hunter’s notice that Randy had very much grown into his looks, and though there had never been a relationship, the undercurrent of attraction was still there. 

Vince brought up the idea of the McMahon/Orton storyline, and Hunter loved it immediately. He could see how it would be received by the audience and he could already imagine the different scenarios that could play out. And it wouldn’t be a hardship to act alongside Randy again. 

He was sat one night in their shared hotel room, making notes on potential angles and fronts for the story and running over some other ideas creative had sent over, when Shawn sat down beside him, peering over his shoulder at his notes. 

“This for the Randy angle?” 

“Yeah,” Hunter nodded, passing Shawn the papers he had already gone through so he could look himself. 

“That’s gonna be a good one,” Shawn said, accepting the pile and leaning back on the couch. “It’ll be good for you to work with him again.” 

Hunter glanced over at him. For all that they had worked through, they had never really discussed Hunter’s thing with Randy. 

“You okay with me working with him again?” Hunter asked, looking back down at the papers in front of him. 

Shawn laughed, reaching out and resting a hand on Hunter’s back. “Of course, babe. You two will look so good together.” 

Hunter felt a rush of heat start at the back of his neck. “It won’t be like that, we’ll just be working together. None of the other stuff. Not like last time.” 

“Listen, Hunter,” Shawn tossed the pile of papers back on the table and leant forward, crowding up against Hunter’s back. “If you don’t fuck him when he’s looking like that, I will.” 

“Shawn!” Hunter jerked away from him, unsure what he was feeling. 

“Hunts,” Shawn said, grabbing at him and pulling him back in, circling his arms around Hunter’s waist, “calm down.” 

Hunter followed his lead, as he always did, leaning back into Shawn’s embrace. 

“Listen,” Shawn said, speaking softly, his chin hooked over Hunter’s shoulder, hands locked over Hunter’s stomach. “I’m not blind, that boy is looking smoking at the moment. And you and him, there’s always been something there. I think you’d be foolish to let this opportunity slip by.” 

“But I’m with you, and you’re the one I love,” Hunter said, covering one of Shawn’s hands in his. 

“Just because you fuck him, doesn’t mean you love me any less,” Shawn replied. “And I’m not saying you have to do this, I’m just offering you the choice.” 

Hunter paused, considering his next words carefully. Shawn let him, holding him patiently and letting Hunter work through it for himself. 

“If, and I do mean if,” Hunter said slowly, “if I spoke to him, and he was on board, it would be like last time. It’s not a relationship, it never was.” 

“I know,” Shawn said, kissing his ear. 

“And you’re the one I come home to, it’s still always going to be you. You are my first priority.” 

“As you are for me.” 

They sat in silence for a little while longer, Hunter still thinking it through. 

“What did I do to deserve you?” Hunter asked, relaxing fully back into Shawn. 

Shawn laughed. “Babe, this isn’t exactly a selfless act I’m doing here. The thought of you two together is hot. You better come back and tell me all about it. Besides, we live crazy lives. What we do isn’t normal, it makes sense that other parts of our lives are different too.” 

Hunter tilted his head back, and Shawn leant down to kiss him. 

“I love you,” he said. 

 

In some ways, being with Randy now was different. He was in a different stage of his career, and Hunter had managed to fix most of the issues in his own life. In some ways, it was like nothing at all had changed. Randy still looked at him with a hint of worship, still wanted to be taken under Hunter’s care and put through his paces. The tension was still there, the physicality of their encounters together hadn’t changed; it was pure lust, mixed in with the emotion of their storyline together. It was hot, and heavy, and charged, and so damn good. His attraction to Randy was like a firework, exploding in his belly and so bright and all-consuming for the time they were together, burning through the pair of them and leaving them sweating and exhilarated afterwards. They never kissed; Hunter would press his lips to Randy’s shoulder or mouth his way down his stomach, but they never kissed. They never had done before, and time hadn’t changed that. 

Just before Hunter would leave, they’d hug, and Hunter would press their foreheads together briefly, until Randy pushed him away, laughing, sending him back to Shawn 

Hunter knew it wouldn’t last forever, a firework never did, but it was so good while it did and Hunter enjoyed it. 

He’d get back to Shawn, usually a couple of floors away in the same hotel, and Shawn would be there, sprawled out on the bed, more than likely topless, and looking so goddamn sexy that Hunter would feel the pull low in his gut. 

Shawn would switch off the tv, or close his laptop, and beam up at Hunter, patting the bed beside him. Hunter would laugh, shed his shoes and join him, Shawn stretching out beside him. And Hunter would tell him exactly what it had been like with Randy, speaking directly into Shawn’s ear whilst he touched him, riling Shawn up and making him desperate, until Shawn reached his breaking point. He’d snap, push Hunter onto his back and then take control, fucking Hunter until they were both sweaty and sated. They’d lie in bed, tangled together, exhausted, and Hunter would hold Shawn close, press a kiss to whichever body part he could reach and fall into a deep sleep. 

This was his life. It was crazy and ridiculous and it shouldn’t make sense, but it did and Hunter wouldn’t have it any other way.


End file.
